On Friday the 3rd of May 2013, dozens of settlers from the settlement of Keryat Arba attacked Beit Ommar. They accused the villagers of throwing stones at their cars on the main road that conects Jerusalem and Hebron which passes the entrance to the town of Beit Ommar.

The clashes were very violent and Isreali soldiers became involved. Many people were injured from Beit Ommar and suffered the suffocating effects of tear gas. Three people were shoot by tear gas bombs in the head from close range. The wounded were moved to a hospital in Hebron, and clashes continued throughout the day at the entrance of Beit Ummar and inside the town.

In the evening the soldiers closed the … Continue reading

On the 17th of April, settlers from the settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron city attacked the car of Ibrahim Khader Alama (36) at the entrance of Beit Ommar. The settlers started to destroy his car and threatened him with violence. The group was made up of four armed settlers, who shot into the air several times with live ammunition. Ibrahim was able to escape to one of the nearby houses.

The Israeli Occupation Forces and the Israeli Police arrived at the scene. Upon their arrival, the settlers escaped in their cars. The IOF and Israeli Police did not actively pursue the settlers and the settlers were able to get away.

Unfortunately, this type of occurrence is not unusual, with … Continue reading

On the morning 10th of April Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian land in Saffa, a part of Beit Ommar village. Saffa often experience attacks like this. The settlers in question lives in the close by settlement called Bayt Ayin which is a part of the bigger Gush Eztion bloc. The settlers living in Bayt Ayin are known to be very aggressive and violent.

This morning the settlers cut olive trees in the Palestinian fields. They managed to cut dozens of trees. The land owner came to the scene and ended up being beaten by the settlers.

This incident was unfortunately not an isolated one. Both Palestinian land and people are attacked daily by settlers, throughout the West Bank.

On the 9th of April 2013 a settler from the colony of Kiryat Arba in Hebron ran down Ala’ Alami, a 23 years old university student from Beit Ommar, and two young boys with his car. The settler ran over them just outside the entrance to Beit Ommar as he was driving towards Gush Etzion. After hitting the youths the driver drove off.

The wounded people were transported to Al Ahli hospital by a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance for treatment.

This incident was not an isolated one, Palestinian people are both injured and killed by cars driven by settlers. At the entrance of Beit Ommar there are car attacks a couple of times a month. The settlers … Continue reading

The production of olive oil in Palestine is considered fundamental for Palestinian economy. For the majority of Palestinian families, especially in the north of the West Bank and in some areas in the south, olive trees have an economic and historic importance as these trees have been part of the Palestinian landscape for thousands of years.

The olive oil sector is one of the major agricultural incomes for Palestinians. Unfortunately, this sector has been facing many obstacles which have prevented it from developing.

The first problem is the removal of thousands of olive trees by the Israeli occupation due to the building of the segregation wall and the establishment of Israeli colonies throughout the West Bank. Colons’ activities include burning … Continue reading

Olive harvest is upon us. Many Palestinians, as well as internationals, have been looking forward to this season. All family members, including small children and grandparents, gather to pick olives in the beautiful fields throughout the West bank.

Every autumn PSP participate in the olive harvest in solidarity with Palestinian farmers that experience harassment and attacks from either colonists or the Israeli occupation forces. Presence of internationals are also sometimes helpful in preventing or documenting such harassment. PSP contributes to the olive harvest in area C, close to either the segregation wall or Israeli colonies and the purpose of this work is to support and encourage farmers to continue to cultivate their land. It is important not to give up cultivating … Continue reading

On Sunday morning, October 14th, 2012, at 7 a.m. a farmer, Mohammed Abd Alhamid Soleibi, was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces as he was harvesting olives in his fields. His olive trees are located in Area C, in Saffa, close to Bayt Ain an Israeli colony and a part of the Gush Esion block.
Israeli
Mohammed is one of many Palestinians that have to cultivate their land in fear of colonist attacks because their fields are located close to an Israeli colony. Last year he was harassed by extreme colonists together with the Israeli occupation forces.
[caption id=”attachment_2517″ align=”alignright” width=”300″ caption=”Acording to the Israeli occupation forces it is … Continue reading

On Monday morning, 15th of October, colonists cut plum trees close to the colony of Efrata. The trees belong to the farmer Abdalla Brigeet and the land area is between Efrata and Migdal Oz north of Beit Ommar. Both these colonies are built on Beit Ommar land.

A total of forty trees were cut this day, approximately one dunam of land. This is the first time Abdalla experience this kind of attacks from colonists.